Tom Braunlich
{{short description|American customizable card game designer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Tom Braunlich
| image = Tom.Braunlich,_c._2016.png
| alt = Tom Braunlich, wearing a cap
| caption = Braunlich in 2016
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| nationality = American
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| known_for = Customizable card game designer
| notable_works = Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game
Star Wars Customizable Card Game
}}
Tom Braunlich is an American customizable card game (CCG) designer.
Career
Thomas Braunlich, son of Frank H. Braunlich Jr. and Phyllis Braunlich, is from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and is a journalism graduate.Stanley, Tim (January 26, 2010). "Father-son outing provided connection", Tulsa World, p. A11.Charm, Robert (March 29, 1983). "Chairmen of the board games: A Pente tournament held in Boston: Is it play or is it war?", The Boston Globe. Braunlich and Rollie Tesh were world champions of Pente, a game originally published by Parker Brothers, and later by Decipher.{{Cite book|author=Shannon Appelcline|title=Designers & Dragons|publisher=Mongoose Publishing|year=2011| isbn= 978-1-907702-58-7|pages=317}} In 1993, Braunlich and Tesh approached Decipher with their idea for a licensed collectible card game, the result of which they published as Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game (1994).{{cite web |url=http://www.decipher.com/content/2004/st10/sttimeline.html |title=The History of Star Trek CCG: The Timeline |publisher=Decipher, Inc |date=July 19, 2004 |accessdate=September 19, 2008 |author=Kathy McCracken |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20080821113824/http://decipher.com/content/2004/st10/sttimeline.html| archivedate=August 21, 2008}}Tennant, Diane (December 11, 1995). "House of Cards: Norfolk Company Debuts 'Star Wars' Game That Pits The Rebel Alliance vs. The Empire", The Virginian-Pilot, p. E1.
Tom Braunlich worked for Decipher. He helped create the Star Wars Customizable Card Game which was Decipher's most monetarily successful CCG and their second-most successful game in terms of longevity.
Braunlich is also a writer on games, including Pente and chess,Larry Evans This Crazy World of Chess 2013 p. 32 "In a controversial 24 page article “Scholastics and the Soul of Chess” Tom Braunlich argues that all is not rosy for organized chess! He notes that most kids quit after high school while real adult membership in the USCF has steadily declined, and he berates educators who use chess as a learning tool or team sport while ignoring real talent".Dondis, Harold, and Wolff, Patrick (July 11, 2005). "Chess Notes", The Boston Globe, p. 15. and organizer of chess tournaments.Chess Life 2007- Volume 62 Page 145 "... GM exhibition, and the main tournament. It was originally organized by Tom Braunlich in 2000, and canceled in 2006 after he moved to Oklahoma. This year the Virginia Chess Federation decided to bring the tournament back."Sands, David R. (March 11, 2000). "Eight christen Millennium in winning style", The Washington Times, p. B2. Braunlich holds a USCF Life Master rating in chess.{{cite web|website=U.S. Chess.org|url=http://www.uschess.org/msa/MbrDtlMain.php?10386161|title=U.S. Chess Federation - Member Services Area}} On numerous occasions Braunlich has served as the director for the Jerry Spann Memorial Tournament, also known as the Oklahoma Open tournament.{{cite web|url=http://www.ocfchess.org/pdf/OCM-2017-08-01.pdf|author=Braunlich, Tom|title=Jerry Spann, The Forgotten Man Who Will Never Be Forgotten|website=OCF.org|accessdate=August 19, 2019}}
Braunlich is also the author of Weather Knight: A World War II Biography of Frank H. Braunlich Jr.{{cite web|url=http://www2.barnesandnoble.com/w/weather-knight-tom-braunlich/1113671605|title=Weather Knight: A World War II Biography of Frank H. Braunlich Jr.|author=Braunlich, Tom|website=barnesandnoble.com|accessdate=September 30, 2019}}
Publications
- [http://www.betteruscf.org/scholastics.pdf Scholastics and the Soul of Chess: Is Scholastic Chess Killing Tournament Chess, or Saving It?] (July 2004)